New Zealand: Business confidence worsens in March
Latest reading: The ANZ Business Confidence Index went down to 32.5 in March, following February’s 59.2. The latest reading was above the threshold of 0 that separates optimistic from pessimistic sentiment but was the lowest since July 2024.
March saw a broad-based deterioration in indicators, with business confidence, firms’ own-activity outlook, investment, employment and profit expectations all falling sharply, alongside weaker credit conditions and reported past activity—the latter has the strongest correlation with GDP.
Panelist insight: ANZ Bank analysts, who compiled the business sentiment survey, said:
“It’s unsettling times for businesses. Just as the economic recovery was starting to feel real, dark clouds have gathered. It’s not just anxiety about the future; many firms are already reporting that their activity has taken a hit as people defer their decision-making in the face of uncertainty. The fall in the activity indicators as the month went on is understandable, as it has become increasingly clear that this is not a short-lived shock, but something more persistent. Firms are understandably in a mood to reduce their risk-taking.”